1. the parts of something that are left after the rest has been destroyed or has disappearedremains of On the table were the remains of the evening meal. extensive Roman remains (=of ancient buildings) at Arles

2. the body of someone who has died: Her remains are buried in Westminster.

remains noun ADJ. abundant, considerable, extensive, substantial abundant remains of marine algae the extensive remains of a medieval abbey impressive | fragmentary | visible | existing, surviving | ancient, prehistoric | Greek, Roman, etc. | battered, mangled, shattered the mangled remains of the bomber's van burnt(-out), charred, smouldering | earthly, human, mortal This tomb holds the mortal remains of King Richard III. animal, archaeological, fossil/fossilized, organic, plant, skeletal VERB + REMAINS discover, find, locate, reveal, uncover, unearth While excavating the site for a new hotel, workers unearthed the remains of several dinosaurs. identify The remains have been identified as those of a Mr Thomas, who lived in Richmond. excavate, exhume, remove They are excavating the remains of an Iron Age settlement. Marie Curie's remains were exhumed and interred in the Pantheon. bury, inter | dump | destroy Environmentalists say that the road will destroy the remains of the world's first commercial railway. feed on The ivory gull often follows polar bears to feed on the remains of seal kills. REMAINS + VERB survive Considerable remains survive of the great city walls begun by Theodosius in AD 413. lie Her remains lie at rest in St Andrew's churchyard. date from … The burnt-out remains date from the 13th century. PREP. among/in the ~ The body was found among the remains of a burnt-out cottage.